"TOMORROW'S ALLIANCE" Performs for A Senior Residence in Elmhurst, Illinois in 2011 on VALENTINE Day. The Audience enjoyed our "TA" Music and We Enjoyed the Excellent conversations with this group of Seniors.

"Tomorrow's Alliance"

FEBRUARY 2018 Issue 2 / Volume 5 - 18

"Tomorrow's Alliance" feels Love is in the air! Valentines Day is celebrated this month. So "TA" says, LOVE is powerful enough to conquor all evil. Well we hope and wish that is true. Especially this year. America has announced that 3,000 troops will be sent to Afghanistan within 60 days. We as a nation should send a special message that expresses our appreciation, gratitude and respect to our military men and women serving all over the world. Our Military are the Heros that secure our Freedoms here at home and National Interests overseas. Send a letter of support, or make a donation to a Veterans Group, how about Volunteering at one of our Veteran Homes or DONATE a care package. You get the idea. Another terrific idea is sharing our Constitution and Bill of Rights with your love ones. That would show the LOVE YOU HAVE for OUR Great Nation and be an Inspiration to show The LOVE you have for SHARING something extremely wonderful. "Tomorrow's Alliance" is proud to be honoring our First Responders and Military Members, past and present. Arthur Liceaga, Editor

When You Have QUESTIONS on Your STATE and FEDERAL TAXES this TAX SEASON, CALL ME, ARTHUR @ 630 - 217-5764

TAXES can be Complicated. Contact ARTHUR to Navigate through the Federal and State Tax Code to Complete your Tax Return this Tax Season. CALL Arthur at (630) 217 - 5764.

"TA Presidential News" PRESIDENTS’ DAY

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: ORIGIN AS WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY

The story of Presidents’ Day date begins in 1800. Following President George Washington’s death in 1799, his February 22 birthday became a perennial day of remembrance. At the time, Washington was venerated as the most important figure in American history, and events like the 1832 centennial of his birth and the start of construction of the Washington Monument in 1848 were cause for national celebration.

President's Day never falls on the actual birthday of any American president. Four chief executives—George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan_were born in February, but their birthdays all come either too early or late to coincide with Presidents’ Day, which is always celebrated on the third Monday of the month.

While Washington’s Birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s, it was not until the late 1870s that it became a federal holiday. Senator Steven Wallace Dorsey of Arkansas was the first to propose the measure, and in 1879 President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law. The holiday initially only applied to the District of Columbia, but in 1885 it was expanded to the whole country. At the time, Washington’s Birthday joined four other nationally recognized federal bank holidays—Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving—and was the first to celebrate the life of an individual American. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, signed into law in 1983, would be the second.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: THE UNIFORM MONDAY HOLIDAY ACT

The shift from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day began in the late 1960s when Congress proposed a measure known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Championed by Senator Robert McClory of Illinois, this law sought to shift the celebration of several federal holidays from specific dates to a series of predetermined Mondays. The proposed change was seen by many as a novel way to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers, and it was believed that ensuring holidays always fell on the same weekday would reduce employee absenteeism. While some argued that shifting holidays from their original dates would cheapen their meaning, the bill also had widespread support from both the private sector and labor unions and was seen as a surefire way to bolster retail sales.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also included a provision to combine the celebration of Washington’s Birthday with Abraham Lincoln’s, which fell on the proximate date of February 12. Lincoln’s Birthday had long been a state holiday in places like Illinois, and many supported joining the two days as a way of giving equal recognition to two of America’s most famous statesmen.

McClory was among the measure’s major proponents, and he even floated the idea of renaming the holiday “President’s Day.” This proved to be a point of contention for lawmakers from George Washington’s home state of Virginia, and the proposal was eventually dropped. Nevertheless, the main piece of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed in 1968 and officially took effect in 1971 following an executive order from President Richard Nixon. Washington’s Birthday was then shifted from the fixed date of February 22 to the third Monday of February. Columbus Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day were also moved from their traditionally designated dates. (As a result of widespread criticism, in 1980 Veterans’ Day was returned to its original November 11 date.)

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: TRANSFORMATION

While Nixon’s order plainly called the newly placed holiday Washington’s Birthday, it was not long before the shift to Presidents’ Day began. The move away from February 22 led many to believe that the new date was intended to honor both Washington and Abraham Lincoln, as it now fell between their two birthdays. Marketers soon jumped at the opportunity to play up the three-day weekend with sales, and “Presidents’ Day” bargains were advertised at stores around the country.

By the mid-1980s Washington’s Birthday was known to many Americans as Presidents’ Day. This shift had solidified in the early 2000s, by which time as many as half the 50 states had changed the holiday’s name to Presidents’ Day on their calendars. Some states have even chosen to customize the holiday by adding new figures to the celebration. Arkansas, for instance, celebrates Washington as well as civil rights activist Daisy Gatson Bates. Alabama, meanwhile, uses Presidents’ Day to commemorate Washington and Thomas Jefferson (who was born in April).

Washington and Lincoln still remain the two most recognized leaders, but Presidents’ Day is now popularly seen as a day to recognize the lives and achievements of all of America’s chief executives. Some lawmakers have objected to this view, arguing that grouping George Washington and Abraham Lincoln together with less successful presidents minimizes their legacies. Congressional measures to restore Washington and Lincoln’s individual birthdays were proposed during the early 2000s, but all failed to gain much attention. For its part, the federal government has held fast to the original incarnation of the holiday as a celebration of the country’s first president. The third Monday in February is still listed on official calendars as Washington’s Birthday.

Presidential Birthdays

The birthdates of the Presidents of

The United States of America.

George Washington

February 22, 1732

John Adams

October 30 1735

Thomas Jefferson

April 13, 1743

James Madison

March 16, 1751

James Monroe

April 28th, 1758

John Quincy Adams

July 11, 1767

Andrew Jackson

March 15, 1767

Martin Van Buren

December 5, 1782

William Henry Harrison

February 9, 1773

John Tyler

March 29, 1790

James K. Polk

November 2, 1795

Zachary Taylor

November 24, 1784

Millard Fillmore

January 7, 1800

Franklin Pierce

November 23, 1804

James Buchanan

April 23, 1791

Abraham Lincoln

February 12, 1809

Andrew Johnson

December 29, 1808

Ulysses S. Grant

April 27, 1822

Rutherford B. Hayes

October 4, 1822

James A. Garfield

November 19, 1831

Chester A. Arthur

October 5, 1829

Grover Cleveland

March 18, 1837

Benjamin Harrison

August 20, 1833

William McKinley

January 29, 1843

Theodore Roosevelt

October 27, 1858

William Howard Taft

September 15, 1857

Woodrow Wilson

December 28, 1856

Warren G. Harding

November 2, 1865

Calvin Coolidge

July 4, 1872

Herbert Hoover

August 10, 1874

Franklin D. Roosevelt

January 30, 1882

Harry S Truman

May 8, 1884

Dwight D. Eisenhower

October 14, 1890

John Kennedy

May 29, 1917

Lyndon B. Johnson

August 27, 1908

Richard M. Nixon

January 9, 1913

Gerald R. Ford

July 14, 1913

Jimmy Carter

October 1, 1924

Ronald Reagan

February 6, 1911

George H. W. Bush

June 12, 1924

William J. Clinton

August 19, 1946

George W. Bush

July 6, 1946

Barack H. ObamaDonald J. Trump

August 4, 1961 June 14th, 1946

PRESIDENTS’ DAY: CELEBRATIONS AND TRADITIONS

Like Independence Day, Presidents’ Day is traditionally viewed as a time of patriotic celebration and remembrance. In its original incarnation as Washington’s Birthday, the holiday gained special meaning during the difficulties of the Great Depression, when portraits of George Washington often graced the front pages of newspapers and magazines every February 22. In 1932 the date was used to reinstate the Purple Heart, a military decoration originally created by George Washington to honor soldiers killed or wounded while serving in the armed forces. Patriotic groups and the Boy Scouts of America also held celebrations on the day, and in 1938 some 5,000 people attended mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in honor of Washington.

In its modern form, Presidents’ Day is used by many patriotic and historical groups as a date for staging celebrations, reenactments and other events. A number of states also require that their public schools spend the days leading up to Presidents’ Day teaching students about the accomplishments of the presidents, often with a focus on the lives of Washington and Lincoln.

In 1971, the government moved this yearly remembrance to the third Monday in February as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established more three-day weekends for American workers. Officially, the holiday is still known as “Washington’s Birthday,” however, we now observe it as President’s Day. Arthur Liceaga, editor

Iwo Jima is a particularly small dot on the map, less than 10 square miles (26 sq km) in size and some 650 miles (1,046 km) southeast of Tokyo.

The raising of the American flag over Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945 was photographed by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press, and it became one of the famous images of the entire war. This photograph was the 2nd Raising of the U.S. Flag which was staged for NECESSARY Publicity.

"Tomorrow's Alliance AMERICAN HISTORY Corner"

WORLD WAR II Battle of Iwo Jima

WRITTEN BY: Donald Sommerville

Battle of Iwo Jima, (19 February–26 March 1945), World War II event. Iwo Jima has been described as the most heavily fortified area in the history of warfare. Since the Japanese defenders were, as always, prepared to fight to the last man, the battle for Iwo Jima was ferocious. The hardest struggles were for the occupation of a height that U.S. forces labeled Meatgrinder Hill, in the north, and Mount Suribachi, an extinct volcano in the south. The U.S. attackers paid a high price for this World War II victory.

Even by Pacific standards, Iwo Jima is a particularly small dot on the map, less than 10 square miles (26 sq km) in size and some 650 miles (1,046 km) southeast of Tokyo. Its importance in 1945 was that it was within fighter range of the Japanese capital and could support the U.S. B-29 Superfortress raids on mainland Japan from the Marines, both with fighters and by providing emergency landing facilities for bombers in difficulty. Iwo Jima’s barren, rocky volcanic terrain lent itself to defense. In addition, after the fall of the Marianas, it had been fortified by a garrison of 18,000 men commanded by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. Almost all the garrison and its defenses survived the massive preliminary air and naval bombardment because Kuribayashi had ordered his men not to open fire and reveal their positions until the attackers had actually landed. Two U.S. Marine divisions came ashore on 19 February and soon began taking heavy losses, pinned down on the crowded beaches under artillery and machine gun fire. Progress inland was generally measured in yards as the Japanese resisted from the many trenches, tunnels, and other strongpoints that honeycombed the island. The first of the island’s three airstrips, a few hundred yards from the landing areas, was captured on 20 February. A small group of Marines managed to gain the summit of Mount Suribachi, the peak dominating the southern tip of the island, on 23 February and raised the Stars and Stripes there. The island’s second airstrip was also captured on this day as the main Marine forces pushed north.

The raising of the American flag over Mount Suribachi on February 23 was photographed by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press, and it became one of the famous images of the entire war. (The photograph actually depicts the second flag-raising over Mount Suribachi, since the first flag raised an hour or two earlier had been too small for other U.S. troops on the island to see.)

The heaviest fighting of the battle came just beyond this position, around a height marked on Marine maps as Hill 382, but generally known as the “meatgrinder.” With 60,000 U.S. Marines committed to the battle by General Harry Schmidt’s V Amphibious Corps, the outcome was never in serious doubt. However, the Japanese troops fought with astonishing bravery and determination, hiding in caves and other impregnable positions under bombardment, then emerging to take a heavy toll of their attackers, often from positions on a flank or in the rear that the Americans had not located or had overlooked. Kuribayashi had forbidden the traditional “banzai” suicide charges, ensuring his troops sold their lives dearly. By 1 March, both Hill 382 and the important Hill 362 near the island’s west coast had been cleared of almost all their defenders. The level of courage and commitment required of the attackers can be judged from the fact that twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded. General Schmidt announced that the island was secure on 16 March, but still the last few hundred Japanese defenders held out in a rocky cleft, known as Bloody Gorge, near the northern tip of the island. They were only wiped out after ten more days of struggle.

Iwo Jima was the only major engagement of the Pacific War in which U.S. casualties, killed and wounded, outstripped the total of Japanese dead. Even before the battle ended, B-29s were making emergency landings on Iwo Jima, possibly saving the lives of their aircrew.

The Battle – The Land Battle

D-Day February 19, 1945 – Shortly before 2am on Feb. 19, 1945, the Navy’s big guns opened up on Iwo Jima again, signaling the beginning of D-Day. After an hour of punishment, the fire was lifted, leaving Iwo smoking as if the entire island were on fire.

Both Americans aboard their transports and the Japanese in their caves looked to the skies now. One-hundred-ten bombers screamed out of the sky to drop more bombs. After the planes left, the big guns of the Navy opened up again.

At 8:30am, the order, “Land the Landing Force,” sent the first wave of Marines towards the deadly shores. Once ashore, the Marines were bedeviled by the loose volcanic ash. Unable to dig foxholes, they were sitting ducks for the hidden Japanese gunners.

Heavy fire made it impossible to land men in an orderly manner. Confusion reigned on the beaches.

The battle was unique in its setting. One hundred thousand men fighting on a tiny island one-third the size of Manhattan. For 36 days Iwo Jima was one of the most populated 7.5 miles on earth.

Mt. Suribachi, the 550-foot volcanic cone at the islands southern tip, dominates both possible landing beaches. From here, Japanese gunners zeroed in on every inch of the landing beach. Blockhouses and pillboxes flanked the landing areas. Within, more heavy weapons stood ready to blast the attacking Marines. Machine guns criss-crossed the beaches with deadly interlocking fire. Rockets, anti-boat and anti-tank guns were also trained on the beaches.Every Marine, everywhere on the island was always in range of Japanese guns.

The Japanese were ready.

The invading US Marines fought above ground. The defending Japanese fought from below ground. The US Marines on Iwo rarely saw a Japanese soldier.

There were no front lines. The Marines were above ground and the Japanese were below them underground. The Marines rarely saw an alive Japanese soldier. The Japanese could see the Marines perfectly.

“Easy Company started with 310 men. We suffered 75% casualties. Only 50 men boarded the ship after the battle. Seven officers went into the battle with me. Only one–me–walked off Iwo.” . . . Captain Dave Severance, Easy Company Commander (the Flag Raising Company)

The battle was won by the inch-by-inch tenacity of the foot soldier. It was a physical war.

Liquid gas, napalm and hand grenades were more useful against the underground Japanese.

Historians described U.S. forces’ attack against the Japanese defense as “throwing human flesh against reinforced concrete.”

U.S. Coast Guard and Navy vessels landing supplies on the Marine beachhead at Iwo Jima, February 1945. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Two U.S. Marine divisions came ashore on 19 February and soon began taking heavy losses, pinned down on the crowded beaches under artillery and machine gun fire. Thousands of American Young Men / Marines were killed and thousands of these young Men were wounded on IWO JIMA.

The US Marines fought above ground. The Japanese fought from below ground. The US Marines on Iwo rarely saw a Japanese soldier. There were no front lines. The Marines were above ground and the Japanese were below them underground. The Marines rarely saw an alive Japanese soldier. The Japanese could see the Marines perfectly and Killed & Wounded thousands of Young American Men.

The Ground was so harsh with volcanic ash that the Tracks of their Battle Tanks were damaged.

G.I.'s Celebrate taking the Island after a Tough Battle.

Japanese, 18,000 dead, 216 captured.

Iwo Jima was the only major engagement of the Pacific War in which U.S. casualties, killed and wounded, outstripped the total of Japanese dead.

Iwo Jima U.S. Casualties were 6,800 dead, 19,200 wounded.

On February 23, 1945 the first flag raised an hour or two earlier had been too small for other U.S. troops on the island to see.

WORLD WAR II and the Battle On IWO JIMA ! Let Us NEVER FORGET this Necessary Battle!

The SACRIFICE of the young Men that not only secured that island of ash, but SECURED WORLD PEACE in the Middle of The 20th Century.

REASONS Why the 33rd President of The UNITED STATES of AMERICA made the Most Horrible but Necessary Decision to Drop the Atomic BOMB on HIROSHIMA, Japan on August 6th, 1945 and NAGASAKI, Japan on August 9th, 1945. President Truman deployed the two Atomic Bombs to make the Japanese surrender which they did on August 15th, 1945. This saved Hundreds of Thousands of American and Allie Military Men lives. CASAULTIES ON BOTH SIDES WOULD HAVE BEEN MASSIVE. Should be noted that if the Japanese did not surrender a 3rd Atomic Bomb would have been dropped on Tokyo, Japan scheduled for August 19th, 1945.

The Second World War was a Global War which started on September 9th, 1939 and Ended on September 2nd, 1945. Let Us Never Forget. Arthur Liceaga Jr. editor

Nearly half of American taxpayers are somewhat or very dependent on receiving a tax refund from the IRS. The survey of 3,000 Americans and commissioned by H&R Block also found that if a tax refund was delayed, the biggest concern for one in four respondents would be not having enough money to meet required financial commitments like rent and bills.

The IRS is required to hold refunds for returns claiming the earned income tax credit (EITC) and additional child tax credit (ACTC) until mid-February. Approximately 30 million taxpayers claim the EITC or ACTC, with half filing early, which means as many as 15 million taxpayers could have their refunds delayed until mid-February. While the IRS will begin issuing refunds with these forms starting mid-February, federal refunds won’t appear in taxpayers’ bank accounts until February 27.

For a quarter of respondents, a delayed tax refund would mean putting off paying debts. Another one in four would worry about not having enough money to meet their obligations, like rent or bills. The tax refund is very important. Averaging more than $2,700, the tax refund is often the largest financial transaction many taxpayers will have all year.

For taxpayers who want access to money faster than the IRS can provide a tax refund, H&R Block is now offering the Refund Advance, where taxpayers could get an advance on their refund of up to $3,000 after filing their taxes. It’s a no interest loan from BofI Federal Bank and the loan is repaid from their tax refund once received.

Tax reform law is like a life event

This tax legislation is like a life event. It’s not just a tax rate change, a bigger child tax credit or larger standard deduction. It’s going to change the way taxpayers think about and plan their income taxes. Taxpayers will need to take a fresh look at their individual situation to know their outcome and new strategies to use to get the best tax outcome.

For the most part, the new tax law will not affect the 2017 tax returns taxpayers are going to file in the next few months. The new law went into effect for 2018, which will affect the income tax return taxpayers file in 2019. However, taxpayers can expect changes to their paychecks in the next few weeks that reflect the new tax rates and rules.

Updating a W-4 with an employer is the best way to prepare for this legislation’s impact. If a taxpayer expects their taxes to go down because of this legislation, do they want that money in their paycheck throughout the year or do they want a big refund when they file their taxes? Updating a W-4 will help taxpayers get the outcome they want.

Whether a taxpayer prepares their own taxes or gets assistance, this is the perfect time to talk with a tax professional to get help understanding how a taxpayer’s specific situation may be affected by the new legislation and any adjustments they may need to make to get the best tax outcome in the future.

For more details about the Refund Advance or to schedule a tax appointment, contact Arthur Liceaga. TAXES can be Complicated. ARTHUR LICEAGA can Navigate through the Federal and State Tax Code to Complete your Tax Return this Tax Season. CALL Arthur Liceaga at (630) 217 - 5764.

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ARTHUR LICEAGA Tax TIPS

How to Spend Your Tax Refund

Finding out that you have a tax refund coming is welcome news. Who doesn’t love money? You’ve probably got big plans for those bucks once your refund comes.

If you’re like many Americans, you may be planning to spend your tax refund on:

Paying down debt. Paying off credit cards, student loans or other debt can take time, but it’s a smart financial move to make. Using your tax refund to pay off debt can help you take a sizable bite out of what you owe. The quicker you can manage your debt, the easier it will be to tackle your other financial goals.

Taking care of home or car repairs. Fixing that leaky sink or worn-out tires? Whether it’s something you’ve been meaning to do or preventative maintenance, upkeep for your home or car can quickly derail your budget.

Making a special purchase. You might have your eye on something new for you or your family, such as a new TV or a computer for your kids to do homework.

H&R Block Has Got Your Back

At Block, we know it’s important for you to get your maximum refund amount. Our Tax Pros are dedicated to uncovering every credit and deduction, so you get back every dollar you deserve.Disclaimer number84. Scroll to bottom of page.

What About a Tax Refund Advance?

Imagine if a tax refund advance meant you didn’t have to wait for money?

You could turn your plans into reality sooner with a Refund AdvanceDisclaimer number109. Scroll to bottom of page. interest-free loan of up to $3,000 when you file your taxes at an H&R Block Office. How much sooner? Approved applicants could receive money the day they file.

You don’t even have to return to our offices to access the funds. If you are approved, we’ll simply text or email you the amount and load your Refund Advance to an H&R Block Emerald Prepaid Mastercard®.Disclaimer number110. Scroll to bottom of page. That means you have a convenient way to access your Refund Advance loan proceeds anywhere Debit Mastercard® is accepted.

The Refund Advance loan is offered in four amounts: $500, $750, $1,250 or $3,000 — enough to help you cover a variety of expenses while waiting for the IRS to issue your refund.

A Refund Advance Means Less Waiting and No Catch

Get funds earlier and spend them how you like. That may have you asking if there are strings attached. Here’s the deal—there are none. When you get a Refund Advance at H&R Block, you’re receiving a 0% interest loan with no loan fees. What’s more, applying for and receiving a Refund Advance will not affect your credit score.

The Refund Advance is only available until February 28. Don’t let it slip by you!

Make an Appointment. TAXES can be Complicated. Contact ARTHUR LICEAGA to Navigate through the Federal and State Tax Code to Complete your Tax Return this Tax Season.

CALL Arthur Liceaga at (630) 217 - 5764.

ARTHUR LICEAGA Tax TIPS

Real Estate and Personal Property Tax: What’s the Difference?

Whether you will pay real estate tax, personal property tax, or both is a matter of your property’s mobility:

Real estate tax (also called “real property tax”) applies to property that is immovable, such as your house, a building, or land. If you own a home, you pay this tax through your monthly mortgage payment or through direct payment to your tax assessor.

Real estate and personal property taxes are based on the type of property you own and its assessed value.

Deducting Real Estate Taxes: Quick Facts

Real estate taxes are based on the assessed value of the real estate, and are deductible only by the taxpayers who own it.

To get a tax benefit for those real estate taxes, you must itemize instead of using the standard deduction.

You can deduct the real estate taxes you pay on your property in the year you pay them if they have accrued. For example, you may receive a bill due in January 2017 for an amount that accrued and you decide to prepay in December 2016. This means you’ll deduct the prepaid amount on your 2016 return.

If you own a home, your mortgage lender may pay your real estate taxes from an escrow account. If so, they’ll send you a Form 1098. This form will report any real estate taxes you paid. You should receive your 1098 by Jan. 31, 2017. If you don’t, contact your mortgage lender.

Statements required by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also report real estate taxes. When you buy or sell property, you’ll receive a Closing Disclosure statement. The statement lists the taxes paid by both the buyer and seller.

If your condo association charges you a special fee, you can’t deduct it as real estate tax; these fees are considered condo fees. However, you can deduct any amount of your fee that covers real property taxes. If the condo association sends you a statement, it should tell you the amount of real property tax the fees covered.

Deducting Personal Property Taxes: Quick Facts

To deduct personal property taxes, all of these must apply:

The tax is imposed on personal property.

The tax must be ad valorem, meaning it’s mostly in proportion to the value of the personal property.

The tax is imposed on an annual basis, even if it’s collected more or less than once a year.

You must claim these as itemized deductions on Schedule A:

Real estate taxes (Line 6)

Personal property taxes (Line 7)

If you have a home office or a rental, these taxes are deducted elsewhere on your return.

Which Taxes Can I Deduct?

The experts at H&R Block can look at your personal situation and help you decide if you’re eligible to deduct real estate taxes, personal property taxes or both. And if you’d rather file your taxes yourself, know you are still backed by our 100% accuracy and maximum refund guarantees. In an office or online, don’t just get your taxes done. Get your taxes won with H&R Block.

TAXES can be a Headache. Contact ARTHUR LICEAGA to Navigate through the Federal and State Tax Code to Complete your Tax Return this Tax Season. This VALENTINES Day Refer a Love One or a Good Friend and CALL Arthur at (630) 217 - 5764.

"TA Presidential News"

U.S. PRESIDENTS Born in FEBRUARY.

U.S. Presidents BORN in FEBRUARY.

1st President George Washington, Born February 22, 1732

William Henry Harrison 9TH PRESIDENT (1841) Birth: February 9, 1773

George Washington served two terms as President. His first term (1789-1793) was occupied primarily with organizing the executive branch of the new government and establishing administrative procedures that would make it possible for the government to operate with the energy and efficiency he believed were essential to the republic's future. An astute judge of talent, he surrounded himself with the most able men in the new nation. He appointed his former aide-decamp, Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury; Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State; and his former artillery chief, Henry Knox, as Secretary of War. James Madison was one of his principal advisors. In his First Inaugural Address, Washington confessed that he was unpracticed in the duties of civil administration; however, he was one of the most able administrators ever to serve as President. He administered the government with fairness and integrity, assuring Americans that the President could exercise extensive executive authority without corruption. Further, he executed the laws with restraint, establishing precedents for broad-ranging presidential authority. His integrity was most pure, Thomas Jefferson wrote, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motive of interest or consanguinity, friendship, or hatred, being able to bias his decision. Washington set a standard for presidential integrity rarely met by his successors, although he established an ideal by which they all are judged. During Washington's first term the Federal Government adopted a series of measures proposed by Alexander Hamilton to resolve the escalating debt crisis and established the nation's finances on a sound basis, concluded peace treaties with the southeastern Indian tribes, and designated a site on the Potomac River for the permanent capital of the United States. Despite Washington's disappointment with the rise of partisanship, the last years of his Presidency were distinguished by important achievements. The long Indian war on the northwest frontier was won, Britain surrendered its forts in the northwest, and Spain opened the Mississippi to American commerce. These achievements opened the West to settlement. Washington’s Farewell Address helped to summarize many of Washington’s strongest held beliefs about what it would take to sustain and grow the young nation that he helped found.

William Henry Harrison 9th President of the United States (March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841) Nicknames: "Old Tippecanoe"; "Old Tip" Born: February 9, 1773, in Berkeley, Virginia Died: April 4, 1841, in Washington, D.C. Religion: Episcopalian Education: Attended Hampden-Sydney College Occupation: Soldier Political Party: Whig Other Government Positions: Secretary of Northwest Territory, 1798 Territorial Delegate to Congress, 1799-1801 Territorial Governor of Indiana, 1801-13 U.S. Congressman from Ohio, 1816-19 United States Senator, 1825-28 Minister to Colombia, 1828-29 Presidential Salary: $25,000/year Presidential Election Results: Year Popular Votes Electoral Votes 1836 tiny U.S. flag Martin Van Buren 765,483 170 William H. Harrison 549,508 73 Hugh L. White 145,352 26 Daniel Webster 41,287 14 Willie P. Mangum 11 1840 William H. Harrison 1,274,624 234 tiny U.S. flag Martin Van Buren 1,127,781 60 Vice President: tiny U.S. flag John Tyler (1841) Notable Events: 1841 Delivered the longest inaugural address on March 4. It was an extremely cold day and Harrison did not wear a hat while delivering the 105 minute speech. He contracted pneumonia and died in the White House one month later. Internet Biographies: William Henry Harrison -- from The Presidents of the United States of America Compiled by the White House. William Henry Harrison -- from Table of Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States - The William Henry Harrison Mansion Museum, built by Harrison in l803-04 while Governor of the Indiana Territory. Points of Interest: Harrison was the only president who studied to become a doctor. Harrison's father was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Harrison and his vice president tiny U.S. flag Tyler are the only president and vice president born in the same county. Harrison was clerk of Hamilton County (Ohio) court immediately before becoming president. His widow received a $25,000 pension after her husband's death.

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States in November 1860 - born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky

40th President Ronald Reagan, Born on February 6, 1911,

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Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught lawyer, legislator and vocal opponent of slavery, was elected 16th president of the United States in November 1860, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Lincoln proved to be a shrewd military strategist and a savvy leader: His Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for slavery’s abolition, while his Gettysburg Address stands as one of the most famous pieces of oratory in American history. In April 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth; his untimely death made him a martyr to the cause of liberty, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history. ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S EARLY LIFE Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky; his family moved to southern Indiana in 1816. Lincoln’s formal schooling was limited to three brief periods in local schools, as he had to work constantly to support his family. In 1830, his family moved to Macon County in southern Illinois, and Lincoln got a job working on a river flatboat hauling freight down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. After settling in the town of New Salem, Illinois, where he worked as a shopkeeper and a postmaster, Lincoln became involved in local politics as a supporter of the Whig Party, winning election to the Illinois state legislature in 1834. Like his Whig heroes Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, Lincoln opposed the spread of slavery to the territories, and had a grand vision of the expanding United States, with a focus on commerce and cities rather than agriculture. Did You Know? The war years were difficult for Abraham Lincoln and his family. After his young son Willie died of typhoid fever in 1862, the emotionally fragile Mary Lincoln, widely unpopular for her frivolity and spendthrift ways, held seances in the White House in the hopes of communicating with him, earning her even more derision. Lincoln taught himself law, passing the bar examination in 1836. The following year, he moved to the newly named state capital of Springfield. For the next few years, he worked there as a lawyer, earning a reputation as “Honest Abe” and serving clients ranging from individual residents of small towns to national railroad lines. He met Mary Todd, a well-to-do Kentucky belle with many suitors (including Lincoln’s future political rival, Stephen Douglas), and they married in 1842. LINCOLN’S ELECTION TO THE WHITE HOUSE Lincoln won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846 and began serving his term the following year. As a congressman, Lincoln was unpopular with many Illinois voters for his strong stance against the U.S. war with Mexico. Promising not to seek reelection, he returned to Springfield in 1849. Events conspired to push him back into national politics, however: Douglas, a leading Democrat in Congress, had pushed through the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which declared that the voters of each territory, rather than the federal government, had the right to decide whether the territory should be slave or free. On October 16, 1854, Lincoln went before a large crowd in Peoria to debate the merits of the Kansas-Nebraska Act with Douglas, denouncing slavery and its extension and calling the institution a violation of the most basic tenets of the Declaration of Independence. With the Whig Party in ruins, Lincoln joined the new Republican Party–formed largely in opposition to slavery’s extension into the territories–in 1858 and ran for the Senate again that year (he had campaigned unsuccessfully for the seat in 1855 as well). In June, Lincoln delivered his now-famous “house divided” speech, in which he quoted from the Gospels to illustrate his belief that “this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free.” Lincoln then squared off against Douglas in a series of famous debates; though he lost the Senate election, Lincoln’s performance made his reputation nationally. His profile rose even higher in early 1860, after he delivered another rousing speech at New York City’s Cooper Union. That May, Republicans chose Lincoln as their candidate for president, passing over Senator William H. Seward of New York and other powerful contenders in favor of the rangy Illinois lawyer with only one undistinguished congressional term under his belt. In the general election, Lincoln again faced Douglas, who represented the northern Democrats; southern Democrats had nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, while John Bell ran for the brand new Constitutional Union Party. With Breckenridge and Bell splitting the vote in the South, Lincoln won most of the North and carried the Electoral College to win the White House. LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR After years of sectional tensions, the election of an antislavery northerner as the 16th president of the United States drove many southerners over the brink. By the time Lincoln was inaugurated as 16th U.S. president in March 1861, seven southern states had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. After Lincoln ordered a fleet of Union ships to supply South Carolina’s Fort Sumter in April, the Confederates fired on both the fort and the Union fleet, beginning the Civil War. Hopes for a quick Union victory were dashed by defeat in the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), and Lincoln called for 500,000 more troops as both sides prepared for a long conflict. While the Confederate leader Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War hero and former secretary of war, Lincoln had only a brief and undistinguished period of service in the Black Hawk War (1832) to his credit. He surprised many when he proved to be a capable wartime leader, learning quickly about strategy and tactics in the early years of the Civil War, and about choosing the ablest commanders. General George McClellan, though beloved by his troops, continually frustrated Lincoln with his reluctance to advance, and when McClellan failed to pursue Robert E. Lee’s retreating Confederate Army in the aftermath of the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln removed him from command. During the war, Lincoln drew criticism for suspending some civil liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, but he considered such measures necessary to win the war. EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION AND GETTYSBURG ADDRESS Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on January 1, 1863, and freed all of the slaves in the rebellious states but left those in the border states (loyal to the Union) in bondage. Though Lincoln once maintained that his “paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy slavery,” he nonetheless came to regard emancipation as one of his greatest achievements, and would argue for the passage of a constitutional amendment outlawing slavery (eventually passed as the 13th Amendment after his death in 1865). Two important Union victories in July 1863–at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania–finally turned the tide of the war. General George Meade missed the opportunity to deliver a final blow against Lee’s army at Gettysburg, and Lincoln would turn by early 1864 to the victor at Vicksburg, Ulysses S. Grant, as supreme commander of the Union forces. In November 1863, Lincoln delivered a brief speech (just 272 words) at the dedication ceremony for the new national cemetery at Gettysburg. Published widely, the Gettysburg Address eloquently expressed the war’s purpose, harking back to the Founding Fathers, the Declaration of Independence and the pursuit of human equality. It became the most famous speech of Lincoln’s presidency, and one of the most widely quoted speeches in history. VICTORY AND DEATH In 1864, Lincoln faced a tough reelection battle against the Democratic nominee, the former Union General George McClellan, but Union victories in battle (especially General William T. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September) swung many votes the president’s way. In his second inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1865, Lincoln addressed the need to reconstruct the South and rebuild the Union: “With malice toward none; with charity for all.” As Sherman marched triumphantly northward through the Carolinas, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9. Union victory was near, and Lincoln gave a speech on the White House lawn on April 11, urging his audience to welcome the southern states back into the fold. Tragically, Lincoln would not live to help carry out his vision of Reconstruction. On the night of April 14, the actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth slipped into the president’s box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and shot him point-blank in the back of the head. Lincoln was carried to a boardinghouse across the street from the theater, but he never regained consciousness, and died in the early morning hours of April 15, 1865.

40th President Ronald Reagan, originally an American actor and politician, became the 40th President of the United States serving from 1981 to 1989. His term saw a restoration of prosperity at home, with the goal of achieving “peace through strength” abroad. At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore “the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism.” On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films. From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott. As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970. Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter. On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar. Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit. A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression. In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve “peace through strength.” During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub. By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa. Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.

GOOD TIMES RADIO-TV with a Product Specialist on the Floor of Chicago Auto Show 2018 Asking Questions about the Trend for Off Road Vehicles.

Good Times Radio-TV will be at The 2018 CHICAGO AUTO SHOW

Check out these Vehicle Body Styles: COMPACT, CONVERTIBLE, COUPE, CPO, CROSSOVER, DIESEL, ELECTRIC, HATCHBACK, HYBRID ELECTRIC, LUXURY, SEDAN, SPORTS CAR, SUV, TRUCK, VAN, WAGON nd AV. Chicago Auto Show Starts February 10th, and ENDS February 19th, 2018 for the Public. First staged in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in North America and has been held more times than any other auto exposition on the continent. This year marks the 117th edition of the Chicago Auto Show. Get your Tickets Today. #CAS18

GOOD TIMES RADIO-TV Attended the New Production at DRURY LANE Threatre

Please be advised that this interpretation includes sexual content, provocative clothing and absurd scenes that make sense in a dreamlike setting.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

JANUARY 19 – MARCH 25, 2018

The meteoric first collaboration of Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat, finishes our season with a bang. Join Israel’s favorite son, Joseph, through his tumultuous ascent to the top in this timeless reminder of the unquenchable thirst of a man with a dream who had the courage to forge the destiny of a people and its powerful message of hope. The classic story of Joseph is paired with exuberant music, featuring favorites such as "Close Every Door," "Go, Go, Go Joseph" and "Any Dream Will Do."

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS PRODUCTION USES THEATRICAL HAZE, FOG, AND STROBE LIGHTING.

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"

"TA Holiday News" Origins Of Valentine's Day

bits and pieces of Historical facts of VALENTINES Day

It all goes back to a mysterious, third century saint who suffered a brutal fate.

St. Valentine of Terni was martyred in 269 C.E. (or somewhere around then). According to legend, the Roman physician and priest was beaten, stoned, and beheaded for the crimes of marrying Christian couples ... and possibly attempting to convert Emperor Claudius II.

Thanks to the marital angle of his story, Valentine became the patron saint of love, young people, and marriages (and also of plaque, epilepsy, and beekeepers).

His February 14 feast day was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 C.E. There's disagreement amongst historians about whether the holiday was meant to replace the pagan fertility festival Lupercalia.

Either way, as time went on, more romantic connotations came to be associated with the saint. One legend has Valentine befriending (or falling in love with) the blind daughter of a judge (or his jailer — again, it depends). He supposedly wrote her secret letters signed "from your Valentine" and then restored her sight from beyond the grave.

As the cult of courtly love spread across Europe in the Middle Ages, an even more romantic light was cast upon mid-February. As the Folklore Society notes, Geoffrey Chaucer mentions Valentine's Day and describes February as the time "when every fowl cometh there to chose his mate" (although the blog Got Medieval asserts that the poet didn't invent Valentine's Day and it was already likely associated with love by the time he referenced it).

So, we know how Valentine's Day came to be seen as the most romantic day of the year. However, the truth is, we don't know much about St. Valentine himself. There are eleven Valentines commemorated by the Catholic Church, and there were at least two other St. Valentines who lived around the time of St. Valentine of Terni. Because his origins are so obscure, he was actually removed from the General Roman Calendar by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 (but he's still technically considered a saint).

So, don't feel bad if you have a crummy Valentine's Day. It (hopefully) won't be worse than getting killed, confused with other people, and kicked off the general liturgical calendar — which is what actually happened to the real St. Valentine.

Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England.

THE LEGEND OF ST. VALENTINE

The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailor’s daughter–who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

ORIGINS OF VALENTINE’S DAY: A PAGAN FESTIVAL IN FEBRUARY

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

The Dark Origins Of Valentine's Day February 13, 2018 by Arnie Seipel

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled.

The Romans executed two men by that name on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D.

Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.

Those Wild And Crazy Romans

From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

The Roman romantics "were drunk. They were naked," says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.

The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival — or longer, if the match was right.

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, "It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn't stop it from being a day of fertility and love."

Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin's Day. Galatin meant "lover of women." That was likely confused with St. Valentine's Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.

William Shakespeare helped romanticize Valentine's Day in his work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe.

Perry-Castañeda Library, University of Texas

Shakespeare In Love

As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages.

Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been the same since.

Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research firm IBIS World, Valentine's Day sales reached $17.6 billion last year; this year's sales are expected to total $18.6 billion.

But that commercialization has spoiled the day for many. Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, says we have only ourselves to blame.

"This isn't a command performance," she says. "If people didn't want to buy Hallmark cards, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of business."

And so the celebration of Valentine's Day goes on, in varied ways. Many will break the bank buying jewelry and flowers for their beloveds. Others will celebrate in a SAD (that's Single Awareness Day) way, dining alone and binging on self-gifted chocolates. A few may even be spending this day the same way the early Romans did. But let's not go there.

Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England.

VALENTINE’S DAY: A DAY OF ROMANCE

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

How have we reached the point where the U.S. is set to spend $30 billion dollars on Valentine's Day.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

TYPICAL VALENTINE’S DAY GREETINGS

In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Did You Know Approximately 150 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

In 2014 the CDC, Center for Disease and Control reported that 2,140,272 were Married out of a U.S. Population of 308,759,713 which represents 6.9% of the population. This number does not represent the state of Louisiana and Georgia.

In Marriage You Both Become ONE.

The Church took this Pagan Festival and Made it a Holy Day that would lead to a Lifelong Union of Marriage for Man and Woman.

ARE YOU INVOLVED IN A WEDDING THIS YEAR? If This Year is The Year, Congratulations and Enjoy Your WONDERFUL & Great Life Changing Event.

Producer, SINGER and SONGWRITER ALAIN QUINN. Visit www.alainquinn.com

"ALAIN QUINN" is an Accomplished Model and Actress.

SINGER, SONG WRITER and Producer ALAIN QUINN about to Step on Stage and Meet the Audience.

"Tomorrow's Alliance Magazine"

featured Performer is "ALAIN QUINN"

Born and raised on the north side of Chicago by musician parents, Alain Quinn began learning about music at the same time she was learning to walk. This is partly why her organic music flows so naturally from her raw emotions. Though she's been surrounded by music her entire life, it's her vast life experiences that define who she is at heart.

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Columbia College Chicago, Quinn set out to expand upon the sounds that she had already begun to find within herself.

Today, you can find her recording in the studio, performing at Chicago venues such as the House of Blues, or enjoying some one-on-one time with her Yoga mat. Riding the momentum of her most recent release, Paradise, Quinn is now in the planning stages of several outings to share her music with the world.

"Some singers weep and wail. Some singers whoop and holler. What I like about Alain Quinn is that with her music, she whispers. There's plenty to enjoy between her impeccable taste in cover versions and her confessional songs of the heart. Clearly this is a singer who likes jazzy flavors, and she uses her backing players to lay down a cool vibe whether she's tackling a standard or serving up something she came up with just last month. Take a break from all the musical commotion around you and chill for a bit with Alain Quinn." - Bill Cochran, voice of 87.7 FM

"Agent 99 (Ms. Quinn to you!) is a sensitive and sultry singer with a lot of feeling, as lovely to see as she is to hear! I am a fan and you will be too!" - Sugar Blue

"Alain has one of those voices that fill your ears like cotton candy in clouds, taking you on a beautiful luxurious ride letting your ears revel in the nectar of her whispering words. Her come hither-like tone lulls you into a tranquil state of consciousness. I love her!" - Frank Russell, bass guitarist & songwriter

"Her music has a quiet intensity which draws her listeners into a world of languorous melody and and seductive rhythm. A Chicago secret...but not for long." - Mike Levin

"Long before pop rock icons started breaking down the walls of the temple, Alain Quinn was challenging convention by mixing genres and debunking the myth of fame. If she needs you she'll just call you!" - Bill Brickey

"Alain is probably the most dedicated and hardest working artist with whom I have ever worked! She possesses a deep sense of confidence in her creative process and manages to transfer that into a passion that inspires others to create at an amazingly high level. It's reflected in her music...just listen!" - Orbert Davis, Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. www.alainquinn.com

ARTHUR LICEAGA TAX TIPS

Volunteer Tax Deductions and Your Return

Volunteering is its own reward, but paying less in taxes is the icing on the cake. Just as charitable donations are tax-deductible, so too are expenses you accrue while volunteering. These can include everything from out of pocket expenses to gas mileage.

When it comes to giving of your time and resources, there are many different ways you can go about deducting volunteer expenses. While it can be a little tricky, we’ll help guide you through every deduction you’re entitled to.

What counts as volunteer work?

Volunteer work comes in many forms. Anything from helping out at an afterschool program, to driving around senior citizens, to picking up litter on the side of the road—any work for a qualifying organization for which you don’t get paid all counts as volunteer work. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you start claiming volunteer deductions.

Qualifying Organizations

The first thing you need to do is make sure you’re volunteering with a qualifying organization.

While volunteering in any shape or form is a great way to give back to your community, only work done through certain organizations qualify for volunteer deductions.

These organizations are typically classified as 501(c) and can include churches, non-profits, social and fraternal orders, veteran’s clubs, and many others. If you’re unsure whether or not the organization has tax-exempt status, simply ask the organization its status or search the extensive database at irs.gov.

Deduct Volunteer Expenses

Once you’ve established you’re working with a qualifying organization, there are many different volunteer deductions you can take for your work.

Volunteer Mileage Deductions

Certain transportation and travel expenses can be deducted from your taxes.

Deductible transportation expenses include gas or mileage (you can use a standard rate of 14 cents/mile instead of actual expenses), parking fees, tolls, and public transit fare.

In addition, travel expenses including air, train, or bus fare, hotel accommodations, and meals may be deductible if you are on duty in a genuine and substantial sense throughout the trip.

It’s important to note that only expenses you accrue while volunteering or traveling to and from can be deducted. In other words, you must be able to prove your travel was not for personal enjoyment or vacation.

Out of Pocket Deductions

If you need to personally purchase anything to conduct your volunteer work, you can deduct it on your tax return.

Out of pocket expenses can include supplies or equipment, postage, photo copies, cell phone minutes, and much more.

Additionally, if the organization requires a special outfit or uniform, and it has no general utility, it’s possible to deduct this as well.

However, the expenses you deduct must be directly related to your volunteer work. For example, bringing in a box of crayons you have at home to an afterschool program won’t cut it. However, buying new crayons at the store may qualify.

Whatever you plan to deduct, make sure you keep a receipt or record of the expense. If your contribution is $250 or more you should also retain a written acknowledgment from the qualifying organization. You’ll need them later.

How Do I Deduct Volunteer Expenses?

It’s easy! When you file your return, you’ll need to include an itemized deduction. To do this, simply use form 1040 Schedule A to itemize your deduction and you’re all set!

The experts at H&R Block can look at your personal situation and help you decide if deducting your volunteer expenses is right for you. And if you’d rather file your taxes yourself, know you are still backed by our 100% accuracy and maximum refund guarantees. In an office or online, don’t just get your taxes done. Get your taxes won with H&R Block.

TAXES can be Complicated. Contact ARTHUR LICEAGA to Navigate through the Federal and State Tax Code to Complete your Tax Return this Tax Season. CALL Arthur at (630) 217 - 5764.

HAPPY AFRICAN AMERICAN

HERITAGE MONTH!

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian

Carter G. Woodson

and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week".

HAPPY AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH! historian Carter G. Woodson

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"TA Sports" 16" SOFTBALL

A Chicago Invention around November 1887. The first ball was created from boxing glove laces by George Hancock. The size of the first softball is not exact. 70,000 people attended the first major tournament game at the Century of Progress Exposition in 1933 which used a 14" ball. Currently a 12-inch softball is played nationally that can be pitched fast or slow,

Chicago is 16" INCH Softball STANDARD Play ACROSS THE CITY. Also known as the “mush” ball is always slow-pitched and Chicago 16" softball makes it better for batters to hit. No gloves are used to play 16" Softball. All play is barehanded.

Grant Park has been the host site for sixteen – inch softball in Chicago for over eight decades. The game fosters camaraderie amongst co-workers; it’s an outlet from work and competition and has driven the players of all ages and professions to step on the field to play the game they love. Chicago style softball was played in various locations starting in the 1920’s, but sixteen – inch softball grew in popularity in the 1930’s in Grant Park. Over the years players took up the game in grass areas, behind Soldier Field and the Field Museum and at Butler field, near Jackson and Columbus. The area on the west side of Columbus, known as playing “on the top” was a grass area that evolved into fields in the 1980’s. The Chicago Park District answered the demand for field space resulting in sixteen – inch softball fields covering the south end of the downtown park. Tournaments in 1980’s were a popular spectator sport. One of the most popular tournaments held was the Tournament of Champions. This showcased the 1st place teams from the leagues in Grant Park. The leagues included Park District house leagues and the champs from the various leagues like the Accountant’s, Legal league, Advertising league , Metro, city departments and agencies, to name a few. This was the competition of the best of the best. Many teams have shown longevity in participation in Grant Park. One team in particular held the title for back-to-back years. Commonwealth Edison won the championship from 1990 to 1993 and again in 1995. Teams like Northern Trust, Gillette, CNA, Sun-Time’s, Sargent & Lundy, Bobby McGee’s, Peoples Gas, Railroad Retirement Board, City Engineers, Wild Bunch, KPMG, Mother Hubbard’s, O’Connor and Trans Union participated in the Chicago Park District Men’s leagues and have been around for many years. Women’s Teams rallied with company sponsored teams as Northern Trust, R.R. Donnelley, Amoco, IL Bell/ATT, BCBS and Quaker Oats. In the late 1990’s, as corporate coed leagues grew in size, teams like TNT, Tressler, Grant Thornton, Mesirow Financial, OPCO, Sargent & Lundy, CBOE and UBS crowded the arena in support for 16” softball. Major sixteen – inch softball Tournaments in Grant Park:

Metro Tournaments, 1960-70, teams played to advance to the National ASA tournament, very often held in Chicago.

Chicago Classic, sponsored by the Beverage Companies like Old Style and Miller Lite, teams came from all over to play on the lake front. There’s nothing better than just needing a bat, ball, tape for your fingers and beer!

World’s Largest No Gloves Tournament 1992 attracted over 200 teams playing for the trophy and prizes that included an all-expense trip to Cancun, Mexico!

The City Wide Industrial Tournament, this was an intense competition that matched teams from all around the city of Chicago.

LaSalle Street Tournament hosted local teams where “ringer teams” often entered to snatch up the prize money.

Chicago Sixteen – inch Softball Hall of Fame Tournament consisted of men, women, co rec and men over forty divisions. This coveted tournament held 2004-2007 brought out the best of the players.

City Wide Youth Championships, culminated the season for thousands of kids from across the city parks. These kids continued to keep the game alive!

Special Olympics Softball, Chicago Park District Special Recreation athletes perform skills tests and competition. The Special Olympics/Special Children’s Charities celebrated their 45th anniversary in July of 2013. In 2014, 481 athletes participated in softball activity in Grant Park.

Leagues throughout the years:

The Chicago Police League played in Grant Park 1950 – 2013. This brought police officers from all over the city to compete and build camaraderie amongst various division of the police force. The league continues to play within the Chicago Park District.

The Illinois Bell/Metro Softball League ran in Grant Park from 1960-2005. The last league director, Jeff Wilkens (1990-2005) notes that back in 1974 every diamond in the pit, up top and over by Petrillo were full every day with teams. They had fond memories of practicing by the original band shell with many other teams waiting for the late game. They always had a contest about who could hit the Columbus statue. Wild Bunch won the league championship in 1991,1992, and 1995. When the league disbanded in 2005, the team joined the park district men’s league on Thursday nights and continues to play.

The Chicago Design League continues the tradition 1999-2014. Nic Rotundo, league director, said that Grant Park gave the Chicago Design League its softball home… and in the grandest of Chicago sixteen – inch tradition on Upper and Lower Hutchinson fields. What makes their league unique is that they started out as a loosely organized squatter’s league in Lincoln Park’s South Field where they survived for twelve years but the late 90’s brought about the need to either formalize, or disband. It was at that point they started play in Grant Park. Over the past fifteen years, thirty-seven teams have competed for 15 Crowns determined at their annual Championship Tournament, the culmination of their season and a tradition known throughout Chicago’s design and construction communities. So the ride so far has been tremendous with no end in sight as far as they are concerned… the sixteen – inch tradition is alive and continuing to thrive in Grant Park.

The running of the leagues and tournaments over the years wouldn’t have happened without the passion for creating great experiences by Buddy Haines, Don Spinella, Lynn Miceli, Ed Cox, Marie Mahay, Jimmy Reye, Steve Dwulat and Joe Sarna. Appreciation goes out to support of The Grant Park Recreation Association, umpires that kept the competition in check, Amateur Softball Association and the Official Umpires Association. Thank you to all who have supported sixteen – inch softball over the decades. As the city’s front yard, Grant Park has hosted many sporting events, concerts and historical events, but the heart of the land still holds true to the game that we all love - sixteen – inch softball. Arthur Liceaga, editor

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